Like an everflowing stream

One of the fascinating things about messageboards like this is, that it's all words. You don't see any faces, don't hear a tone of voice, and you don't even get a real name. There's no physical context to shape the conversation. It's all words, words and more words.

These words sometimes behave in a magical way. This is when every poster in a thread writes the right thing, and in doing so stimulates the general flow. An individual post doesn't necessarily have to be profound, or humorous, or anything like that -- it just has to be right.

A post is just right when it inspires others to respond in an inspiring way. Then the stream of words becomes alive, and can suddenly speak in marvelous tongues. Everything within the thread communicates something. Something inspiring, something profound, something simple. The thread can become something wonderfully mysterious.

On the other hand, a post is wrong when it grinds the flow to a halt. Not necessarily in the form no responses. It can also manifest in long-winded arguments about nothing at all (empty abstractions) and a rise in the general feeling of self-importance of the posters. It becomes about the individual post, as opposed to the great flow and aliveness in the exchange of words as such.

I am both new and old on this board. I've been lurking for many years. Now I want to participate, and I want to participate in a right way. I want to inspire and to be inspired, and I want to become increasingly aware of, when- and how I'm doing it wrong, so I can correct my own approach when it needs correction. Just as I want in real life.

Geezus, great first (sort of) post. If there's one thing I'd like to get out of these boards, it's the ability to articulate myself half as well as you guys.

I've always loved the way people on forums and other online communities have an identity formed around their ideas, and not superficialities like their appearance or the sound of their voice. Everyone is judged based on the quality of their words alone. If I were to ever meet crow, and find that he is not actually a crow, tapping away at a keyboard with his beak, I would be greatly disappointed.

I would also be disappointed if scourge weren't down to yiff with me sometime

Yes, the good posters are the ones who know how to forget that they are anything but their ideas. The bad ones are those, who think that they only express their ideas, even though their words are mere ego-disguise. It sounds like a subtle different, but it's really quite obvious once you notice it.

I'm also here to practice my ability to write- and express my ideas in english. I would like to achieve a degree of naturalness in my language.

Out of curiosity do you plan to post about metal? It seems like there is quite a disproportionate amount of chatter in Chasm, more so than at other times before such a place existed (before '08? Internet Archive can't access www.anus.com/metal/forum), though this sort of thing is to be expected to a certain extent. Is it possible to split this forum in half, into a Philosophy and Etc. forum, and a metal forum?

The difference seems significant enough to warrant division. What can be telling if you look at the split of posts of users under Chasm vs. Metal (for you, Wild, nearly 3/4ths of your posts are in Chasm).

In the past there have been separate forums (Nihilism forums, Corrupt forums). I suppose it's less upkeep only dealing with one forum though. Maybe there's just less forum traffic overall.

People with metal legs, for instance, don't only interest themselves in metal legs. Whereas they may frequent a forum for people with metal legs, some of them may also be interested in model aircraft, or raising chinchillas. People talk about whatever interests them. Life, for instance, interests me. So I talk about life.

On the other hand, Metal interests me only in that it is a symptom of something that causes an interest in Metal. The Metal, itself, drives me nuts, but the reasons for it existing at all, let alone being so important to those it is so important to, intrigues me.

Chasm is where you jump off into space and hope to discover the principles of flight before meeting up with the bottom. It is one aspect of Metal.

You need legs to jump. And when your legs happen to be made of metal, the metal is an important part of what makes it possible for many of us to leap into the chasm. I know it's different for crows, but still... Hope the music communicates

For allegedly being deathmetal, the music wasn't half bad. A bit pedestrian, perhaps, but not unpleasant. I suppose I prefer subtlety to smashing the audience over their heads with a mace. Then again, subtlety rarely works, with the concrete-headed masses.

I am both new and old on this board. I've been lurking for many years. Now I want to participate, and I want to participate in a right way. I want to inspire and to be inspired, and I want to become increasingly aware of, when- and how I'm doing it wrong, so I can correct my own approach when it needs correction. Just as I want in real life.

What do you want from these boards?

Personally, fearless discussion. I don't necessarily care if you find a line of thought uninspiring, as that is a function of your own hangups, background, genetics and self-constructed mental world. What is inspiring to a Nietzschean is not going to be inspiring to a perennialist or a hard-lefty, for instance. I like to connect with people beyond these aribtrary 'doors of peception', using the tools of science, logic and reason that were developed for this purpose.

Having said this, we are all here (well, most of us) because we like old-school metal, and so luckily there will be some meeting of tastes and affections due to this. Not everything comes down to naked 'objectivity'. Moreover, metal will be (surely) the primary grounding/relational zero-point of these forums, as opposed to lifestyle or political orientation for instance.

Geezus, great first (sort of) post. If there's one thing I'd like to get out of these boards, it's the ability to articulate myself half as well as you guys.

This `ability` is just wanking with your brain, I wish I could lose any I have. Eloquence comes from practice (if you have ability of course), so all you really have to do is drop the self-consciousness and write lots of words. Please dont stop yourself because of `but what will they think`. No one ever respects that anyway.

As for what I want out of these boards, nothing. If anything, I guess fearless discussion is good enough. If the truth is bitter, I want to swim in bitterness. If the truth is uncomfortable, I want to be discomfited. If I believe the world is mostly lies, truth will be at the fringes.

I suppose I prefer subtlety to smashing the audience over their heads with a mace. Then again, subtlety rarely works, with the concrete-headed masses.

Not an either-or. Metal is subtle. Some of it is more than that even, it is deliberately obscure. In fact, pedestrian is a much worse insult for it than unpleasant. I am reminded again of the futility of trying to convert people to metal, but a lot cant resist. It`s like you know something really important but no one else will pay attention (maybe a polite nod if you are lucky) or even understand why its important. Ever had experience with anything like that crow?